ETN vs AVGO Comparison

Founded in 1911 by Joseph Eaton, the eponymous company began by selling truck axles in New Jersey. Eaton has since become an industrial powerhouse largely through acquisitions in various end markets. Eaton's portfolio can broadly be divided into two parts: its electrical and industrial businesses. Its electrical portfolio (representing around 70% of company revenue) sells components within data centers, utilities, and commercial and residential buildings, while its industrial business (30% of revenue) sells components within commercial and passenger vehicles and aircraft. Eaton receives favorable tax treatment as a domiciliary of Ireland, but it generates over half of its revenue within the US.

Broadcom is one of the largest semiconductor companies in the world and has also expanded into infrastructure software. Its semiconductors primarily serve computing and networking, with custom AI accelerators now accounting for the bulk of the business. It is primarily a fabless designer, but holds some manufacturing in-house, such as for its best-of-breed film bulk acoustic resonator filters that sell into the Apple iPhone. In software, it sells virtualization, infrastructure, and security software to large enterprises, financial institutions, and governments. Broadcom is the product of consolidation. Its businesses are an amalgamation of former companies like legacy Broadcom and Avago Technologies in chips, as well as VMware, Brocade, CA Technologies, and Symantec in software.